Thursday, July 02, 2009

Finally bloggin' about it...

Today marks the three week mark of my time in Zambia. It has been really good. Here's a brief synopsis:

(1) Week One - All my flights went as smooth as they possibly could have. I got into Lusaka and was greeted at the airport by the smiles of Steve and Tyler before being shuttled around town for a bit. I stayed the first night with Tyler at a house in Makeni, which is a suburb of Lusaka, and was able to get a full night's rest, which was great. My first real experience with JetLag wasn't too bad, and I was ok on day three.

The rest of the week was spent with Tyler and Steve and Megan, just learning the city and learning what Action Zambia is doing in its various ministries. Public transportation here is pretty interesting, and I've got some great stories that I'll have to post later. All the missionaries here have been very gracious and generous with me so far; I had dinner with all but one of the families my first week here.

(2) Week Two - A short-term team from Vacaville, CA, came into town a couple of weeks ago to do some work with a farm we have called Cianjano ("Fellowship" in Nyanja). I hung with them for the week just digging 5' x 16' x 9' pit latrines, planting trees, and hanging out with kids from the local villiages. I love that stuff: kids are the same everywhere, it doesn't matter what culture they grow up in or what language they speak. We also tore down an Insaka (an African gazebo), and watched as ladies came from the villiage to make brooms from the straw roof as we tore it down. They'll sell them in the market later for 1,000 to 2,000 kwacha (20 to 40 cents).

(3) Week Three - The team took a trip down to Livingstone to see

Victoria Falls and catch a safari, but I decided not to go with them... instead I moved into Steve and Stephanie's guest room last weekend, and have been spending time getting to know the projects that I'll be working on the rest of the way out. I'm excited for this next month, as I'll hopefully be diving into the lives of 15 local pastors, getting to know them and their congregations, and just helping out the Action office wherever I'm needed.